A standalone whistleblower protection bill has been re-introduced in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 would clarify that whistleblowers may disclose evidence of censorship of scientific or technical information under the same standards that apply to disclosures of other kinds of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Introduced by committee ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the chair of the federal workforce subcommittee, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the bill would provide whistleblower protection for TSA employees and supersede a Supreme Court ruling by clarifying that federal employees are protected for any disclosures they make including as part of an employee’s job duties.
It would also suspend sole jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit of Appeals over federal whistleblower cases for five years.
"Absent these needed protections, cases of fraud and abuse could go unnoticed as would-be whistleblowers remain quiet out of fear," said Collins.
The bill further would bar agencies from revoking an employee’s security clearance, enforcing a nondisclosure policy, or investigating an employee in retaliation for a protected disclosure.
"In this time of economic crisis, we must act to make sure the government uses tax dollars efficiently and effectively," said Akaka.
